Bears

Former third-round OT Kiran Amegadjie was among the Bears’ final roster cuts coming out of the preseason, leading to him signing on with the Eagles’ practice squad. Chicago GM Ryan Poles said Amegadjie’s “level of consistency” wasn’t what they were looking for. 

“I would go back to the (offensive line) room and the competition,” Poles said, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “I had a good conversation with him at the end. It really just wasn’t a level of consistency that we were looking for.”

Although Poles admitted their draft mistakes, he also thinks they’ve done well identifying talent in the later rounds and with undrafted players.  

“Kyle (Monangai), UDFAs like Tyson (Bagent), Theo (Benedet), Jahdae (Walker). So I think we’ve done a really good job,” Poles said. “But we do research on (picks who don’t work out), and we look into it. You have to be honest with yourself with what works and what doesn’t work. You just keep tightening the screws on your process.”

Lions

Lions WR coach Scottie Montgomery isn’t deterred by the lack of production with WR Isaac TeSlaa‘s preseason.

“I’m not too concerned,” Montgomery said, via Lions Wire. “I do want our guys making every single play. And we did hold him accountable for some of the things that went on, and that’s the difference in being in the room and being outside of the room.”

The team’s offensive staff made it a point to put Teslaa against top defenders versus letting him compete against backups.

“The one thing that I like about this year, though, he’s been going against No. 1 corners. Last year, you get hidden at the No. 3, No. 3/4 spot. The top guys are not coming out there every time. So you’re beating rookies or you’re beating the three or four corners. Not this spring. Our goal was to put him against D.J. Reed and to put him against 2-3 (Rock Ya-Sin), it was to put him against all of the guys, whether it was (Nick) Whiteside. We wanted to see him go against this competition, and he had to work through it. One of the things that I really loved is that he went through that dip when everybody, ‘No one loves me anymore,’ and he had to come back and see what that was like. When you come into this league and you’re the poster boy and everybody gives you everything, sometimes you forget the grind that got you where you are. Not saying that he did, but what he did realize is that it’s day to day. They can love you today, they can hate you tomorrow, they can love you again the day after that. So it’s about putting in the work,” Montgomery said.

Packers

Packers QB Jordan Love is entering the seventh year of his career and fourth year as a starter. Green Bay HC Matt LaFleur said Love has become “calm, cool, and collected” in critical moments.

“Just to hear his demeanor on the headset and how calm, cool and collected he was throughout the entire game, especially in those critical moments,” LaFleur said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “It’s not a surprise to me because that’s what we see on the field too.”

LaFleur said that Love makes a lot of effort to improve over the offseason and tries to maintain balance in the pocket. 

“I think one of the things he’s been really focused and conscious of throughout the course of the offseason and on his own in the summer is just trying to play with as much balance in the pocket as he can,” LaFleur said, “knowing that there’s going to be times you get moved off the spot. But can you maintain that balance? Because I think one thing you see from, I’d say a majority of quarterbacks in the league, when they are balanced in the pocket, they’re going to be more consistent and more accurate over time.”

Former Packers and current Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers thinks Love has built up his confidence over the years and has proven he can be a successful NFL quarterback. 

“This is his fourth year starting now,” Rodgers said. “I think with every year you get a little more confidence. Obviously your body of work is a chip on your shoulder to kind of use at any time, to say, ‘Look, I’ve done this. I’ve made plays. I’ve won in the playoffs. I’ve played at a high level.’ It just comes down to the communication part.”